After 25 seasons as Principal Clarinet of the Minnesota Orchestra, BURT HARA joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Associate Principal Clarinet in 2013. He has served as Principal Clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and has been a guest Principal Clarinet with the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony.

At the age of 14 Hara made his solo debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. A frequent soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Hara has also soloed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Cedar Rapids Symphony, the Quad Cities Symphony, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, and the Monterey Symphony.

Hara is on the faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and the Principal Clarinet of the Aspen Chamber Symphony.

An active chamber musician, Hara has performed at the Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival, the Sante Fe Chamber Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Summerfest in La Jolla, Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley, the Salt Bay Chamberfest in Maine, and the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Festival in Wisconsin. He has performed regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and on the Minnesota Orchestra’s Chamber music series. This April he will perform on the Philharmonic's Chamber Music Series.

Hara is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Donald Montanaro. His principal teachers also include Yehuda Gilad and Mitchell Lurie.